Email marketing has stood the test of time, evolving from simple promotional blasts to a dynamic tool for building meaningful connections and driving tangible business results.
Even when social media is booming and new platforms keep emerging, email remains a cornerstone of effective communication—delivering an unmatched ROI, fostering brand loyalty, and enabling personalised engagement at scale.
But while the potential is immense, excelling at email marketing requires more than just hitting “send.” It demands strategy, creativity, and a deep understanding of your audience. Done right, email campaigns can lead to higher conversions, stronger relationships, and long-term growth for any business.
Take Spotify, for instance—a brand that masterfully uses email to engage its audience. Their annual “Spotify Wrapped” campaign, which showcases personalised listening data, is not only eagerly anticipated but also widely shared. By combining audience insights, creative storytelling, and a touch of exclusivity, they turn an email campaign into a global marketing event, reinforcing customer loyalty while driving brand visibility.
It is possible to achieve this level of success without breaking the bank. The key lies in adopting smart, strategic approaches that resonate with your audience and make your emails stand out. To help you on this journey, we turned to leading email marketing experts—Dan Gray, Andy Drinkwater, and Fiona De Brabanter—who shared their tried-and-tested strategies for boosting open rates and engagement.
From leveraging behavioural data and AI-powered personalisation to crafting irresistible subject lines, these insights are packed with actionable tips to help you elevate your email marketing game. Ready to transform your campaigns? Let’s dive into these powerful strategies and unlock the true potential of email marketing.
Fiona De Brabanter
Digital Marketing & Web Intelligence Expert
As email marketing continues to evolve, traditional best practices—such as optimising subject lines or using first-name personalisation—are no longer enough. To truly skyrocket open rates, brands need to embrace behavioural data, AI-driven customisation, and social-driven engagement. Here are five cutting-edge strategies that go beyond the usual playbook:
- Behavioural data-driven email timing
Instead of sending emails based on industry-wide “best practices” (e.g., Tuesday at 10 AM), use real user behaviour data to identify when your audience is most engaged.
Actionable approach:
– Use Google Analytics, Looker Studio, or Hotjar to track when users are actively engaging with your website.
– Segment email lists based on real-time behavioural patterns rather than demographic assumptions.
– Schedule emails dynamically to match each recipient’s highest engagement window
Example: If a segment of your audience frequently visits your website after 9 PM, sending emails during that window could significantly increase open rates compared to a midday blast.
- AI-powered dynamic personalisation (beyond first names)
Traditional personalisation (e.g., “Hi [First Name]”) is outdated. AI tools like ChatGPT, Phrasee, or Persado allow for hyper-personalisation at scale by dynamically adjusting the tone, style, and messaging based on a user’s past interactions.
Actionable Approach:
– Train AI models on user engagement data to craft custom email messaging that matches their preferences and purchase history.
– Use predictive AI to offer content recommendations based on previous behaviours.
– Adjust messaging dynamically for returning vs. first-time customers.
Example: A returning customer who frequently buys minimalist decor should receive an email emphasizing clean aesthetics and simplicity, while a first-time visitor gets bestsellers and social proof.
- Leveraging ‘dark social’ to boost email engagement
Many high-value customer conversations aren’t happening in inboxes but rather in private WhatsApp groups, Slack channels, Discord communities, and LinkedIn DMs—areas that traditional email analytics can’t track.
Actionable approach:
– Encourage email content sharing through private, trackable referral links instead of just “Forward to a Friend.”
– Include conversation-starters in emails to increase peer-to-peer sharing within private communities.
– Offer exclusive gated content or early access links that encourage discussions in closed networks.
Example: Instead of just pushing a product, create a VIP “insider tip” or community trend that recipients will want to share privately with peers—driving word-of-mouth visibility beyond open rates.
- Subject line psychology: micro-commitments & open loops
Instead of aggressive CTAs like “Buy Now,” framing micro-commitments (small actions that gradually lead to engagement) results in higher open rates and conversions.
Actionable approach:
– Use curiosity-based open loops in subject lines that leave an information gap (e.g., “This one mistake is costing you €€€” → triggering a need to open the email).
– Frame low-friction actions in CTAs, such as asking a question or inviting a simple reply.
– Emphasize social proof and insider knowledge to make emails feel exclusive.
Example: Instead of “Join our webinar on Email Marketing”, try “What email mistake costs brands the most? (You might be guilty of this one)”—triggering curiosity and FOMO (fear of missing out).
- Re-engagement through multi-touchpoint email journeys
Most email marketers treat their campaigns as single-touch interactions when in reality, multiple nudges across different channels improve open rates.
Actionable approach:
– Use retargeting strategies to show social or display ads to users who ignored previous emails, reinforcing the message.
– Build email sequences where each follow-up dynamically responds to the user’s previous behaviour (clicked/didn’t click, opened/didn’t open).
– Sync email marketing with CRM triggers to personalize communication across email, social, and SMS.
Example: If a user opens but doesn’t click, the next email should change the CTA or offer instead of repeating the same message. If they ignore an email entirely, triggering a friendly LinkedIn message or SMS follow-up could make the difference.
Final thought: the future of email open rates is psychological & behavioural
With inbox competition at an all-time high, brands must ditch generic best practices and instead lean into human psychology, AI-driven insights, and cross-channel experiences.
By implementing these strategies, email marketers can drive higher engagement, increase open rates, and nurture deeper brand relationships.
Feel free to connect with me on LinkedIn for further discussions.
Andy Drinkwater
SEO Consultant @ Drinkwater Consultancy
Getting email content read, is only a small part of the puzzle. The most important thing is to get it opened first of all.
We all get spam many times a day, I’m sure, and we can tell it a mile off because spammers fire so much out and use the same subject lines time and time again.
Here are 2 things you want to do…
1) Find out who you need to send the email to. Don’t be afraid of picking up the phone and making your enquiries. If you get through to the right person, even better, because you might then have a chance at a warm lead.
2) If you are sending a cold email, you must still have the right email address, but you need an interesting subject line. Just putting “My SEO Services” won’t cut it, because that is boring. Make them take an interest, and one of the best ways to do this is by mentioning the competition.
So you would have something like “How are you ranking in Google vs ‘your competitor’?” or “Can I help you overtake ‘your competitor’ in Google?”.
Something like this is going to make them show more interest, but you will need to spend a couple of minutes in researching this.
Think about what their pain points might be and approach your email subject from that angle.
Dan Gray
Founder, Blorange Marketing
Skyrocket your email open rates by sending less.
No one needs to hear from your brand every week unless you have a range as diverse as a major retailer. Seriously, do you want to hear about an ocean-saving water bottle in an email twice a week? Do you want to know about a natural skincare product and its sale 5 times?
If open rates are your objective, which they shouldn’t always be…. sales is key right? Then send less. Send emails when you have something to say, something new to offer, or it’s genuinely time-relevant (birthday mailer perhaps?) stop emailing for emailing sake as people will stop opening, and eventually unsubscribe… Don’t believe me? Check your behaviour…. why would your consumer be different to you and your friends? Yes, your brand obsessed will be opening most emails, but they will also be on your socials so let that be your channel for daily/constant messaging. Oh and make sure you’ve got a good title and preview text, that goes without saying of course.
By applying the strategies shared by experts Dan Gray, Andy Drinkwater, and Fiona De Brabanter, you can enhance your email campaigns, increase open rates, and cultivate deeper engagement with your audience. Remember, success in email marketing isn’t about flooding inboxes—it’s about crafting thoughtful, targeted, and engaging messages that resonate. Whether it’s sending fewer but more meaningful emails, leveraging behavioural data, or tapping into AI-driven personalization, the potential for growth is immense when you focus on quality over quantity.
Start by experimenting with these expert insights and monitoring your results. The beauty of email marketing lies in its adaptability—small changes can lead to significant improvements. With a well-executed strategy, your email campaigns can become not just a communication channel but a driving force behind your brand’s success.
Now it’s your turn to put these strategies into action and take your email marketing to the next level. Happy emailing!
